Minutes

New Brighton Economic Development Commission

Regular Meeting – December 12, 2000

7:30 a.m.

Members/Liaisons Present:

Rakesh Agarwala, Bob Benke, Eugene Delaune, Dennis Flahave, Linda Harmon, Ken Johnson, John Kaufhold, Steve Larson, Mark Nelson.

Members/Liaisons Absent:

Carol Frey, Ann Hoffman, Maxine Pierson.

Staff Present:

Matt Fulton, Kevin Locke, David Black, Mark Andrle.

Others Present:

Kent Carlson, Craig Rapp, Wally Case (DSU), Phil Carlson (DSU).

Call to Order

Chair Ken Johnson called the meeting to order at 7:30 a.m.

Approval of Minutes

The minutes of the November 12, 2000 meeting were presented for approval. All approved.

Introduction

Locke introduced Mark Andrle, who began work as Community Development Specialist on November 20th. He will be working primarily on planning issues until a new City Planner is hired.

Strategic Planning

Fulton introduced the discussion by explaining that all municipal commissions are being asked to provide input on the major community issues that should be addressed. The suggestions will be considered by the Council and top managers at the annual retreat in late January.

The first question asked what are the greatest challenges or issues that are currently facing the city, or will be in the next five years. Responses included:

•	Brighton Village (Johnson)

•	NW Quadrant (Flahave)

•	Changing demographics, especially the growing elderly population (Agarwala)

•	Cultural changes (Nelson)

•	Decline of school-age population (Benke)

•	Aging housing stock, and need for resources for remodeling (Benke)

•	Risks of legislative changes that would further restrict tax-increment financing (Benke)

•	Difficulty in providing adequate services to schools and aging population (Harmon)

When asked for suggestions about the "global" direction the community is moving, and appropriate recommendations, responses included:

•	Concerns about crime (Harmon)

•	Demands for earlier response to arising problems (Agarwala, Benke)

•	Need to address housing upkeep (Kaufhold)

•	Community leadership to provide sound planning and clear vision to deal with changes and needs, as they arise (Delaune, Kaufhold)

•	Need to address vacancies of housing and commercial properties (Agarwala)

How could we improve the use of citizens in our local governance process?

•	Regular page in the local papers (Agarwala)

•	Look at increasing the size of commissions (Delaune)

What priority should be assigned to conducting more of the City's business electronically?

•	High priority (Delaune, Agarwala, Nelson)

•	Work to increase the frequency of communications (Agarwala)

Are there any important community projects that the City is not now pursuing, but should?

•	Enhancing the business environment, especially for businesses working out of the home (Kaufhold)

•	Replacing the County Road E-2 bridge over I-35W (Johnson, Harmon, Benke)

•	More planning in the Lake Jones area (Delaune, Flahave)

•	County Road D / Old Highway 8 area (Nelson)

•	Better choice of grocery stores, swimming pool at the Family Service Center (Harmon)

Northwest Quadrant Update

Master Development Plan: Kent Carlson reviewed the process to date for developing the plan. Within the next month, the developers will be testing several possible scenarios.

Case started by recognizing that a great deal of planning work had already been done in this area, and his intention has been to expand on it. He suggested that there is great potential because of the junction of the two interstate highways, but that access was somewhat circuitous. The area is currently underutilized, with numerous inappropriate land uses. Beisswenger's and Keys Café are long-standing community institutions. The post office presents both an opportunity and a problem. There is little grade change, making the area conducive to intensive development. There are few trees. The quality of the soils in the Miller dump area is unknown, and will affect what can be built there.

Delaune asked whether this area should be looked at as self-contained, or as connected to nearby areas. Kent Carlson suggested that there was an opportunity to build on the success of the downtown area to the south. Rapp suggested that this connection could be enhanced by expanding the bridge over I-694, but that the Northwest Quadrant was large enough to be considered a market itself. Harmon asked whether housing would include rental units. Rapp noted that densities must be about 10 units per acre in order to pay for development costs. This dictates that condominiums and townhouses will be the predominate housing types; various styles are being tested.

Case described two concepts. Concept A includes townhouses with a village green, apartments, a five-story office building, and one level of underground parking. In Concept B, some of the adjacent park land is incorporated into the housing area, and there are two-story office buildings along Old Highway 8. These concepts will be refined for presentation at next month's meeting.

Brighton Village Update

Planning Proposal: Phil Carlson distributed a preliminary outline, which described a three-
phase approach. There would be a community forum in each phase, separate from the grid meetings that are scheduled for approximately the same time period. Business owners will be interviewed individually.

Benke expressed concern about the relationship with owner Kraus-Anderson. Black indicated that they had been supportive of a planning study. Delaune asked about cost and timing. Phil Carlson suggested that the first two phases will take 3-4 months, and cost about $20-30,000.

Kraus-Anderson Plans: Kraus-Anderson officials are scheduled to meet with City staff on December 15th to describe a new concept plan for the center. A meeting with the tenants is set for December 21st.

Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 9:10 a.m.